Yoh Asakura - Abilities and Techniques

Abilities and Techniques

As the heir to the Asakura family, Yoh descends from a long line of shaman founded by Hao Asakura. The Asakura family itself is well known as the foremost family of shaman in Japan. As the twin brother of Hao's latest incarnation, Yoh possesses the smaller half of Hao's original power, resulting in Hao's unusual interest in Yoh's strength and repeated statements that he needs Yoh to help him. Their connection is also the reason why Yoh is believed to possess the potential to defeat Hao, who has been extremely formidable due to his own shamanic powers and from reincarnating twice since his original life. In particular, Yoh possesses a rare potential seen in few members of the family. However, because of his general laziness, Yoh's abilities are relatively unrefined and he is lacking in knowledge of more sophisticated techniques at the beginning of the series when he first arrives in Tokyo and meets Manta.

Through Anna's highly disciplined training, Yoh's power gradually increases and he develops rapidly from first hand experience from combat. Notably, Yoh is able to develop a powerful Oversoul, despite only learning the technique after encountering Patch Officiant Silva, and through the mastery of the Ultra Senji Ryakketsu, a tome listing the techniques developed by Hao in his original life. Though the level of his furyoku, the quantified level of his shamanic power, at the conclusion of the series is not the highest, Yoh's own flexibility and insight in battle still make him dangerous against more powerful opponents, allowing him to match both Horohoro and Tao Ren when he must fight them at the same time.

As a shaman, Yoh does not adhere to a particular style of shamanism like other members of his family. His primary medium in combat is the Harusame, a katana forged by Mosuke, a swordsmith who had been Amidamaru's best friend. Yoh later gains a powerful secondary medium, the Futsunomitama, a stone sword antiquity that has been a treasure of the Asakura family for many generations. His guardian spirit throughout the Shaman Fight is Amidamaru, whose own abilities as a samurai provide Yoh with extensive combat experience while his 600 year existence as a spirit allows him to become a powerful seirei class spirit.

Because of his lack of adherence to any creed regarding the nature of good or evil, he is also recognized by Lady Sati, the leader of the neutral faction Gandhara in the Shaman Fight, as the Elemental Warrior for the Spirit of Earth, one of the Patch Tribe's Five Elemental Spirits, and one of the shaman she believes as having the necessary resolve to defeat Hao.

• Leaf Sprites - Power Strike (小鬼ストライク, Ko-Oni Strike?): One of the Asakura clan's onmyôji magic. The technique allows an onmyôji can summon shikigami (familiar spirits) from leaves or bits of paper to do their bidding. They are most useful, from anything from household chores to assassinations. Though Yoh never truly mastered Shikigami technique, he displays the capacity to use it at age 10, under tutelage of his grandfather, Yohmei Asakura. At best, he could only invoke three Shikigami from the leaves. Overall, however, this is a minuscule technique compared to Yoh's more advanced shamanic abilities.

• O-kyo (御経, Okyō?): A sutra taught to Yoh by Anna, it is a Buddhist exorcism chant of the Sankiraimon, or the Three Refuges sends any spirit with knowledge of Buddhism who hears it to the hereafter. However, as it is a written-language media, the sutra mainly works on spirit whom identify with the culture of eastern shamanism. Yoh eventually discovers its weakness during his entry exam against Silva, almost sending Amidamaru to heaven in the process. This was omitted in the English dub.

• Spirit Integration (憑依合体, Hyōi Gattai?) ("Spirit Unity"): A shamanic technique that enables a shaman to integrate spirits into their body, forming a "unity" of both between the shaman's spirit and that of the ghost. Entering a special trance which enables them to synchronize their spirit with that of the ghost, the ghost is able to possess the shaman's body and interact with the physical world. Once integrated, the shaman takes on the knowledge and wisdom of the ghost as well as their personality. Though it is unknown when Yoh learned this technique.

• Over Soul (オーバーソウル?): Initially, Yoh learns how to create his Over Soul indirectly during his battle with the Shaman Fight officiant, Silva. By integrating Amidamaru's spirit with that of his sword, Harusame, Yoh is able to form an Over Soul, allowing him to materialize Amidamaru's essence as a weapon. Yoh subsequently form a more powerful Over Soul using two mediums, by integrating the Over Soul formed with Amidmaru and the Harusame into the heirloom antiquity, the Futsunomitama Sword. The shamanic technique quickly becomes Yoh's quintessential mode of shamanic combat and his most versatile tool.
  Through creative use of his existing ability, Yoh is able to alter the Over Soul of Amidamaru for battle, creating formations such as the defensive Amidamaru Shield (阿弥陀丸シールド+?), which makes use of the Over Soul's armor for protection. As the Over Soul evolved, the Amidamaru Shield was incorporated in this way, eliminating the need to alter its shape for protection. In the anime, Yoh manipulates his Over Soul to create an Over Soul Missile, which induces an explosive thrust of his Over Soul to launch himself at his target. He makes use of this method during his final battle with Hao in the anime.
  In the manga, Yoh's two most powerful Over Souls derive from his ability to form a double medium. Yoh's Spirit of Sword (スピリット・オブ・シド, Suporitto obu Sodo?) Over Soul creates an enormous katana, which he can instantly visualize as a result of Anna's training and was inspired by Matamune's own Ogre Slayer Over Soul; however, the technique requires a great deal of furyoku to maintain. Yoh later develops his White Swan (スピリット・オブ・ソード以降: 白鳥, Byakkou?) armour Over Soul, which allows him to utilize his furyoku more efficiently by wielding the Harusame in his right hand to attack while wielding the Futsunomitama in his left hand for defence.

• Amida-Style: Shockwave Buddha-Giri (阿弥陀流 真空仏陀切り, Amida-ryū: Shinkuu Buddha-giri?) ("Vacuous Buddha-Slash"): Amidamaru's signature technique developed when he was still alive. Its principal use is to strike at adversaries outside of his sword's range. Essentially, it breaks the air with a slash and forces out a powerful shockwave at the adversary. Through constant "Spirit Integration" Yoh learns this technique, albeit through muscle memory. With the introduction of the Over Soul, this technique has been somewhat modified, instead expanding the Over Soul over a distance, rather than a shockwave slash. The name of this technique was changed to "Celestial Slash" in the English dub of the anime.

• Amida-Style: Halo Blade (阿弥陀流 後光刃, Amida-ryū: Gokōjin?): A technique developed by Amidamaru, the Halo Blade is a dual-sword battō-jutsu technique executed from his unique and legendary fighting stance, called Tathagata. During execution, both swords are unsheathed at incredible speed at dead-range of the adversary, unleashing a strike with enough power to bust an adversary to shreds. Since then this technique has been modified for use in Over Soul mode; instead using the magical power of the Over Soul to cut the enemy to pieces in one swift sword-draw.

• Amida-Style: Grand Halo Blade (阿弥陀流 大後光刃, Amidaryū: Dai Gokōjin?): An advanced form of the normal Halo Blade. Using the normal, Over Soul Halo Blade as a base, and powered by Amidamaru's newly acquired seirei-class powers, this high-level technique focuses furyoku and destroys anything with a decisive strike of cutting furyoku waves using Yoh's Over Soul "Spirit of Sword".

• Ultra Senji Ryakketsu - Shamanic Oracle (超占事略決 - 巫門遁甲, Chō Senji Ryakketsu - Fumon Tonkou?): One of many spells Yoh learned from the contents of the Ultra Senji Ryakketsu that Anna brings to him from his grandfather Yohmei. Using this spell enables one to read the flow of furyoku and determine its course. Mastery of the technique allows Yoh to dodge most furyoku induced attacks.

• Ultra Senji Ryakketsu - Crescent Moon Purification (超占事略決 - 三日月ノ祓, Chō Senji Ryakketsu - Mikazuki no Harae?): An exorcising technique left to Yoh by Matamune, it is used to vanquish the Oni that Anna created. While extremely powerful, the use of spirit integration and the Over Soul required for the technique depletes Matamune's reserve of furyoku, preventing him from returning to physical form and departing the living world.

• Amida-Style: Na-Avidya (阿弥陀流 無無明亦無, Amida-ryū: Mu-Mu-Myō-Yaku-Mu?) ("Amida-Style: The Absence of Ignorance"): Yoh's most powerful technique, which he develops when he is sent to hell and is forced to fight his ancestor, Yohken Asakura. The technique itself is rooted in the power of purification, which dissolves a person's spiritual power into nothing. The technique employs Amidamaru (in Byakkou OS mode) to generate shamanic forces that polarizes the furyoku of another shaman, thus neutralizing it. Yoh is the only shaman known to employ the power of purification in an offensive manner.